classical conditioning

Question 1

classical conditioning

Answer 1

• relate two associated events
• contingency btwn a signal and a later event
• organism can respond to signal before event occurs

Question 2

instrumental conditioning

Answer 2

relate actions and consequences

Question 3

who did the basis for classical conditioning

Answer 3

ivan pavlov
1890s-1900s

Question 4

other word for classical conditioning

Answer 4

pavlovian conditioning

Question 5

what was pavlovs observation

Answer 5

• dogs salivate before food reaches their mouth = digestion starts before food stimulus
• stimulus was sound of metronome

Question 6

conditioned reflex/response

Answer 6

• response conditioned over training
• e.g. dog salivating at sound of metronome

Question 7

contigencies

Answer 7

• when one stimulus reliably predicts presentation of another
• signal and event

Question 8

contingency in pavlov’s experiment

Answer 8

• signal: metronome
• event: food

Question 9

benefit of classical conditioning

Answer 9

• promotes survival
• i.e. salivating before food = efficient digestion
• animal runs based on cues to avoid being attacked

Question 10

basis of classical conditioning

Answer 10

contingencies

Question 11

unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 11

• unconditionally/automatically triggers response even w/o learning
• natural response
• i.e. lemon in mouth = salivating

Question 12

unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 12

• always follows a US
• occurs naturally/without training
• often a biologically programmed reflex

Question 13

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 13

• neutral stimulus that becomes associated w/ a US
• produces a learned contingency
• i.e. sight/smell of lemon
• usually occurs before US

Question 14

conditioned response

Answer 14

• occurs after contingency btwn CS and US has been learned
• always similar to UR w/ slight modification
• i.e. sight of lemon causes salivatory response

Question 15

acquisition

Answer 15

process by which a contingency between CS and US is learned

Question 16

how did pavlov characterize the process of acquisition?

Answer 16

• negatively accelerated increasing function
• most learning occurs during early trials (greater slope)
• i.e. by second time eating lemon, we’ve already learned its sour

Question 17

neophobia

Answer 17

• rats avoid unfamiliar food
• form of acquisition that only takes one trial
• eat small amnts of new foods. if they get sick once, they never eat that food again bc of taste aversion (form of sickness)

Question 18

how long do effects of a learning trial last

Answer 18

• in theory: as long as the CS continues to be a reliable cue for the US, contingency will be maintained
• if conditions change such that CS doesn’t reliably predict US, the CR will fade

Question 19

extinction

Answer 19

when CR goes away bc CS can’t predict US anymore

Question 20

how do we know that extinction causes inhibiting the CS, not unlearning it

Answer 20

• unlearning: after extinction, it would take same amount of time to relearn the contingency as original training
• inhibitory response: after extinction, retraining btwn CS and US would cause acquisition of CR at a faster rate **ACC OCCURS

Question 21

spontaneous recovery

Answer 21

• CR is quickly recovered after a rest period after extinction
• extinction occurs, CR fades, rest period, CS elicits CR even w/o US
• proves that US is not unlearned. INSTEAD, extinction = inhibitory response that competes with CR

Question 22

stimulus generalization

Answer 22

• stimuli similar to CS also causes CR
• i.e. many whistling sounds = bomb
• i.e. bit by dog = scared by all dogs

Question 23

generalization gradient

Answer 23

• when testing for stimulus generalization, we see a normal distribution
• exact CS causes maximum CR
• similar stimuli cause more CR than not similar stimuli

Question 24

stimulus discrimination

Answer 24

• when exposed to CS+ and CS-, the CS+ elicits a response but CS- predicts absence of US
• thus, the response for the CS- (even if similar to CS+) decreases or goes extinct

Question 25

what if C+ and C- are showed simultaneously

Answer 25

- intermediate fear response - between the response elicited by both cues - *one is not more severe than the other, they j cause diff responses

Question 26

why are generalization and discrimination both important

Answer 26

- generalization: efficiency and flexibility - discrimination: refine learning process (i.e. antelopes shouldn’t be scared of other antelopes even if they’re big like lions)

Question 27

phobia

Answer 27

- exaggerated, intense fear - developed by classical conditioning - i.e. accident with a snake

Question 28

therapies for phobias

Answer 28

- implosive therapy: person confronts CS by using imagination so CS is presented without US - systematic desensitization: increasing stages of exposure to stimuli

Question 29

compensatory response

Answer 29

- process that counteracts a challenge to homeostasis - i.e. insulin released when glucose spikes